^ You know how Tower Records, HMV, Shinseido, and Tsutaya get special sleeves with every Idoling!!! release? Some of the other retailers get bonus posters--one of which is Neowing AKA CDJapan... I'm always tempted to order from CDJapan for the posters, but I always end up ordering from HMV because they often have discounts if you buy multiple items (which, by the way, saved me 6300 yen on Idoling!!! Season 5
). Plus, last time I checked, HMV's shipping had a better cost/speed balance for me (east coast United States). So, I have the premium and standard editions on the way from HMV. I really only wanted the premium edition, but they just had to make the DVD different in the standard edition.
Here's my track-by-track review of this album:
Prologue ～reminiscent of moonlight～ / SUNRISE - Prologue has a nice beat to it, and I like how it leads straight into SUNRISE (but my iPod doesn't, so it puts a little gap between the two songs). SUNRISE is a nice, upbeat song to kick off the album, but I don't find it really special. It is a very good album track, but it's not a song I would listen to over and over again. Maybe it's because of the other album tracks, but this one just didn't have much impact.
Kishuhen Ecstasy - I thought this song was just OK at first, but I really started liking it after seeing the 7th live. This song has that pop-rockish Idoling!!! feel that we've all grown to love over the years. I have always found this song kind of funny because of the fast talking parts, and it's even funnier hearing them try to pull that off live.
Te no Hira no Yuuki - Honestly, this is the type of song that I would normally find kind of boring. But, for some reason, I really like this song. Maybe it's because it has Maipuru and Rurika... Maybe it's that funny one-armed dance... Maybe it's that tempo change near the end that makes you start bouncing around like they do in the PV.
U - I'm normally not a big fan of ballads, but this one is pretty good. A lot of ballads have a quiet instrumental that tries to put more focus on the vocals, but this one has a relatively powerful instrumental. I know about the whole in-school/not-in-school split for this song and Houkago Telepathy, but come on, did they really have to put Yazawa in this song?
Sunadokei - I think this one kind of flew under the radar while I drooling over another track on the album, but this song is hot. It has a cool beat that keeps me bouncing while I'm listening to it, and the vocals are great. The tempo change in the middle of the song was a little strange, but I like it. I think this is my 2nd favorite track on the album.
Snow celebration -everlasting story- - It's Snow celebration... again... I like the song, but not that much. Yeah, it has a new arrangement and new lyrics, but it's still Snow celebration. But, now I can't sing along with it because I don't know the new lyrics. I didn't agree with it being voted as the #1 Idoling!!! song (I voted for Ganbare Otome), and I really don't agree with it getting a re-release on both a single and an album. Again, I still like the song, but it's probably my least favorite track on the album.
3-dome no Kinenbi - Another ballad, but this time, they picked the right people: Endo, Tonooka, Fonchi, Yokoyama, Kawamura, and Asahi. OK, maybe I could do without Fonchi and Asahi, but they've both proven to be pretty solid singers recently, so I don't mind them being there. I just hope this group can pull this one off live because it sounds like a challenging song.
La・La・La La no SONG - For me, this is THE song of the album right here. Masuno is a genius. Idols doing heavy metal? You've got to be kidding me. Idoling!!! is the idol group that just keeps pushing the limits. I'm not even a big fan of heavy metal, but just the idea of a bunch of cute girls singing a metal song is AWESOME! I'm not 100% sure who does the opera singing in the middle, but the more I listen to it, the more it sounds like Yazawa to me. I just wonder how they're gonna perform this one live. It'll probably be a comedic performance like the last two Masuno-gumi (I love that term) songs, but I kind of want to see them take this one seriously with a really cool choreography. It could be the performance that puts this group on the map.
Love Magic♥Fever ~Love Love Magic Hyper Mix~ - The placement of this song is hilarious. You go from heavy metal to a really happy and hyper song. Love Magic Fever is a great song, and the new instrumental is awesome. Honestly, I think they made this version because it sounds more like something that's playable by the live band.
Houkago Telepathy ~Inokori Hoshuu Mix~ - The only difference between this and the original Houkago Telepathy is the talking at the end. I liked the original, so it's not that big a deal, but I find it strange that they gave it a new title, especially when Beta na Shitsuren on Petit-Petit had talking at the end, but didn't have a different title. (I know the talking had more to do with Royal Milk Girl, but still...) I love the part near the end of the song where it slows down and then speeds back up. I always want to pick up a towel and start swinging it around during the last part.
Rainy Girl - This is a really nice and relaxing song. I have a 2.1 speaker system connected to my computer, and that subwoofer always makes my desk vibrate just a tiny bit during the beginning of this song. It's kind of funny how such a mellow song hits the bass so hard. By the way, in case anyone was under the impression that this was a Tokimeki Idoling!!! song (as I was), this is actually a full-group song. I really love the part after the instrumental break where Tonooka and Yokoyama trade lines.
Don't be afraid -Director's cut- - Here's an idea... Let's take all of the solo lines and make them group lines. In other words, let's take the parts that make this song special and make them not-so-special. Yeah, whoever came up with that idea is an idiot. The most amazing part of this song is Rurika's long solo part, and they just did away with it. There's also a little extra music at the end... Big whoop... They took a great song and made it a good song. This was almost as big a disappointment as Snow celebration, but I still like this song better, so it's my 2nd least favorite track on the album.
S.O.W. Sense of Wonder - It's Sense of Wonder. What more can I say? At least it's a change of pace as far as ending tracks on Idoling!!! albums. Instead of closing with a slower track like Daiji na Mono and Petit-Petit, SUNRISE ends with a high-energy bang by closing with one of Idoling!!!'s best-selling singles. I've grown to like this song a lot more after hearing it so many times.
Overall, I thought this was a great album. I know we all complained about the lack of new tracks on the album, but after hearing the radio previews, all of my complaints went right out the window. The last time I remember being this excited to hear an album was when I first entered J-Pop fandom in 2003 and Morning Musume's No.5 just came out. Even though we only got 4 new tracks, I think they're all very high-quality tracks, probably better than some of Idoling!!!'s singles. I know I listed Snow celebration and Don't be afraid as my least favorite tracks on the album, but that sounds harsher than it really is. They're both still good songs, and I still find both very enjoyable.
Topic: [03/03] Idoling!!! 3rd album [Sunrise] (Read 24619 times)